Requirements

• Memory: the Datafor server starts with a Java heap of 2 GB that can grow to 6 GB (-Xms2048m -Xmx6144m). The built-in PostgreSQL database and the AI Agent run beside it, so plan at least 8 GB RAM. To change the heap, see Increasing Memory Limit for Datafor Server.
• Java: bundled in bi-server/java. You do not need to install Java.
• Ports: 28080 (web server), 25432 (built-in PostgreSQL), 28081 (AI Agent API) and 38081 (AI Agent MCP server). Open only 28080 in the firewall, or only the Nginx ports when Datafor runs behind Nginx. Keep 25432, 28081 and 38081 closed to the network.

Step 1: Switch to the root user and install the required packages

sudo su
apt update
apt install -y unzip procps locales

Step 2: Create the biadmin user

adduser biadmin

Follow the prompts to set a password and user details. adduser also creates a group named biadmin and makes it the user's primary group, so no separate group step is needed.

Step 3: Extract the installation package

Go to the directory that holds the installation package and extract it into /opt. Use the file name of the package you received, for example datafor-server-linux-<version>.zip:

unzip -o datafor-server-linux-<version>.zip -d /opt/

The package creates /opt/bi-server.

Step 4: Set directory permissions

cd /opt/
chmod -R 700 bi-server
chown -R biadmin:biadmin bi-server
ls -al bi-server

Installation is now complete.

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Starting Datafor

Perform the following steps as the biadmin user.

Step 1: Switch to biadmin

su - biadmin

Step 2: Start Datafor

cd /opt/bi-server/
./start-server.sh

The script starts the built-in PostgreSQL database and then the Datafor web server (Tomcat).

Step 3: Start the AI Agent

The AI Agent is in /opt/bi-server/ai-agent and runs the API on port 28081, a routing worker, dispatch workers (two by default) and the MCP server on port 38081. Start it with its launcher:

cd /opt/bi-server/ai-agent
./app-console.sh start

start starts only the components that are not running, so it is safe to run it again. On the first start the launcher creates instance-secrets.env, which also holds the secret Datafor shares with the AI Agent. Datafor reads it from that file, so it does not need a restart. Run the launcher as the same user as Datafor: the file is readable only by the user that created it. See AI Agent Shared Secret.

Check that the AI Agent is ready:

curl -i http://127.0.0.1:28081/ai/health

HTTP/1.1 200 means it is ready. 503 means it cannot work yet; the response body says whether the database, the schema migration or the worker queues are the cause. To set up the AI features, see How to Enable the AI Feature.

Step 4: Stop Datafor

cd /opt/bi-server/ai-agent
./app-console.sh stop
cd /opt/bi-server/
./stop-server.sh

Step 5: Check whether Datafor is running

ps -ef | grep [t]omcat

If the command prints a Java process whose arguments contain /opt/bi-server/tomcat, Datafor is running. No output means it is stopped.

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Signing in to Datafor

Open http://<server-ip>:28080/ in a browser. The installation comes with two accounts:

• Administrator: admin / password
• Demo user: demo / demo

Change the admin password right after the first sign-in (see Modify Password), and change the demo password or delete that user if you do not need it.

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Updating the System

To install an update package, follow Upgrading Datafor.